Water heater conversion unit



Jian; 25, 1949. H. E. HANDLEY WATER HEATER CONVERSION UNIT Filed May 5l,1945 BY zal/www,

Patented Jan. 25, v1949 WATER HEATER CONVERSION UNIT Harold E. Handley,Jackson, Mich., assignor to Handley Brown Heater Company,

Jackson,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application May 31, 194:5,V Serial No.596,900

1 1 Qlaim.

This invention relates to a water heater` It is an object of the presentinvention to provide an electrical heater construction which has manyadvantages over the ordinary types yof electrical heaters not.7 ingeneral use. 'Most electrical heaters in common use today utilize whatis called an immersion unit. That is, an electrical resistance devicewhich is inserted directly in the tank surrounded by water. Incommunities where the Water has a high lime content, the limeaccumulation on these units is built up rapidly due to the fact that ahigh temperature must be used the localized application of the heat.After a certain amount of lime accumulation a thermostat calls foralmost continuous burning of the unit to keep the Water at a 'propertemperature. The result is a burned out unit vand the diiculty is thatreplacement of the unit is not an easy job. lt involves destroying waterseals and replacing water seals.

The present invention contemplates a heating unit which may be applied,either as original equipment r as a conversion unit, to ordinary rangetype boilers found in most homes today. The electrical resistanceelements are incorporated in insulating` pieces which are spaced at onepoint from the tank to provide a heating or absorption chamber. Thischamber is preferably provided in the wall which faces the tank with areilecting surface such as disclosed in Handley Patent 2,084,287, June15, 1937.

t is an object t-o provide an electrical heating unit composed of aseries of elements which are interchangeable and readily replaced incase of burn out. The construction contemplates a relatively largeheating area which thus cuts down the intensity of the heat required andpractically eliminates the lime deposit problem. The construction has anadded advantage in that great standardization in production of theinsulating assembly is possible; installations may be adapted to specialwattage requirements and individual wants simply by arranging the properwattage resistance at the proper points in the unit.

Other objects and features of the invention relating to details ofconstruction, such as the manner of insulating the resistance units andmounting the same, and including special reflection surfaces, will befound in the following description and claim:

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation in perspective with a portion of theinsulation cut away to show the general assembly.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view or the heating unit with insulationremoved.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. l a partial View in perspective of an individual heating elementshowing the end 'connection.

li reference is made to the drawings, in Fig. 1 will be found a watertank l0 commonly referred to as a range type boiler. Suitable legs Hsupport this boiler in a vertical position. Inlet and outlet pipes andS3 enter the boiler at the top.

heating unit for the boiler is shownin Fig. 2 preferably formed of sheetmetal with a back plate i5, sides It and l1, ends I8 connecting the :ackand sides. A middle divider i9 also connects the back and sides. Theends i8 and the divi-der are contoured on the free edges to correspondwith the contour of the tank. On each sid-e of divider i9 and adjacenteach end l are pairs of clips ii shown in detail in Fig. 4. These clipsare each connected to an electrical conduit to serve as conductingmembers but they also serve as supporting members for tubes 25. Thetubes are preferably formed of a dielectric material such as glass witha 'metallic cap 25 at each end from which projects a conducting andsupporting stud 2l shown in Fig. 4. Connected between the studs 2l ineach tube is an electrical resistance wire 23 in coiled or straight formeX- tending from end to end of the tube through the center thereof.

While numerous mountings may be provided for the heating unit shown inFig. 2 one preferred construction is shown in Figs. l and 3. Aninsulating jacket 35 passes around the greater share ci the tankextending slightly beyond the ends thereof and clamped in place bystraps 36. The heating unit composed of the device shown in Fig. 2 ismounted within a jacket 3'! which in turn is clamped to the jacket 35 byclamps 38, one at each end of each side of the unit 31. Thus the heatingunit is drawn snugly up to the side of the tank l0. Suitable conduits 40connect the conducting clips 20 to a source of electricity. Thermostaticunits 4l and 42 may be connected into the circuits connecting up theresistance units in tubes 25 to control the passage of currenttherethrough in response to the load requirements oi any particularinstallation.

The surface of sides l5 and the back l5 of the heating unit arepreferably highly polished reflecting or mirrored surfaces Iwhichreflect the heat in the absorption chamber 43 toward the wall of thetank. The surface of the tubes 25 which subtend the tank may also bemirrored reecting surfaces as shown in Fig. 4 to increase the eiciencyof the unit.

The heating units for tubes 25 are designed to snap in and out ofposition by reason of the spring action of clamps 38 so that it is asimple matter to replace or change these units. The elements within thetubes 25 may be selected to have varying resistance such as 500 watts or1000 Watts. In many installations it is desirable to have higher wattageunits at the lower portion of the tank than at the upper portion. Inthis case two 1000 watt units may be installed at the lower portion ofthe insulating device and two 500 watt units can be installed at thetop. In other installations the exact reverse is desired, that is lowwattage at the bottom of the tank and high wattage at the top. Theremovability of the front panel section 37 makes it easy for an ordinaryhouseholder to replace or exchange heating units. If it is found thatthe entire unit requires service, a substitute panel may be brought outand installed without the need of an experienced and skilled worker andthe old unit returned to the service center for such repairs as it mayneed.

Water heating units are sold on the basis of capacity requirements whichvary with local regulations and individual household needs. Theconstruction above described has the advantage that the complete heatingunit may be manufactured on a production basis with all partsstandardized. As each unit is prepared for delivery the requiredcapacity tubes may be inserted and the unit is tailored to theparticular order.

Another advantage of the above construction lies in the low operatingtemperatures due to the fact that the heat input is distributed over alarge area of the surface of the tank. Not only do the heating unitshave longer life but the lime concentration within the tank ismaterially reduced. Furthermore, if lime deposition becomes a problem itis necessary only to shift the location of the heating chamber withrespect to the tank by rotating the outer shell of the heater.

What I claim is:

A water heater of the type having a heating element adjacent an outsidesurface of a Water tank, comprising a circular upright tank, meansincluding a separable shell insulating said tank throughout its lengthand around more than of its circumference, fastening means for saidinsulating means releasable and available at the Luicovered portion ofthe tank, and means completing the circumferential insulation andforming a heating chamber extending the length of said tank comprisingtwo walls meeting the vertical edges of the rst insulation means andextending substantially tangentially of the enclosed tank and a thirdenclosing wall joining the tangential walls spaced from the tank, fourelongate heating units mounted in vertically aligned pairs on the insideof said third Wall, each being independently mounted and removable, andeach being composed of an electric resistance unit within a transparentdi-electric tube, and fastening means for said last insulation meansavailable at the outside of said joined insulation units, said rstfastening means being enclosed within the second insulation means.

HAROLD E. HANDLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,076,858 Andrews Oct. 28, 19131,244,817 Willson Oct. 30, 1917 1,489,444 Kestler Apr. 8, 1924 1,492,821Weinbacli May 6, 1924 1,593,725 Sharpe July 27, 1926 1,663,255 HynesMar. 20, 1928 1,663,874 Brisson Mar. 27, 1928 1,681,231 Greenfield Aug.21, 1928 1,971,387 Scoville Aug. 28, 1934 1,991,801 Greeneld Feb. 19,1935 2,237,110 Osterheld Apr. 1, 1941 2,875,369 Knight et al May 8, 19452,379,820 Mendez July 3, 1945

